Agenda, decisions and minutes

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.  

26.1          The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

27.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect on 1 February 2023. 

27.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2023.

28.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Rule of Procedure 12.

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 31 August 2023)

29.1          There were no items from members of the public. 

That feedback from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be NOTED.     

30.1          The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny gave a short presentation, circulated separately, which provided an overview of the matters discussed at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 11 July 2023.

30.2          With regard to the Ubico annual report, a Member asked whether the high number of requests for food waste bins was because people were being encouraged to remove food waste from residual waste bins.  The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee indicated that the reasons for the requests were not known which was why the Depot Services Working Group would be asked to look at this in more detail.  The Director: Corporate Resources advised that one of the reasons for the increase was that they were not substantial enough and were easily broken; there had been additional questions around how they were procured which was one of the reasons it had been pushed back to the Depot Services Working Group.  With regard to in-cab technology, a Member asked how the public would be informed of this and whether it would assist with cross-boundary working.  In terms of food waste bin requests, he would be cautious of telling residents they could not have bins given that they were being encouraged to recycle.  In terms of the waste vehicle fleet, he found it difficult to imagine a residual waste collection vehicle being run on electricity whilst it was required to travel down the motorway twice a day but electric vehicles could be introduced gradually.  In response, the Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment confirmed that cross-boundary collections were being considered along with the possibility of sharing vehicles between Ubico partners.  She was keen to move towards using electric waste vehicles but recognised this was not something which could be done in one go, both for cost and technology reasons.  She provided assurance that several options were being explored for the future including hydrogen and refurbishing some of the existing vehicles to avoid having to buy new diesel ones straight away – this would be considered in more detail by the Depot Services Working Group.  In terms of in-cab technology, the Director: Communities advised that this would go live in October and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been assured that communications would be put out alongside the soft launch so that residents would understand its benefits.  The Chief Executive agreed with the need to look at how to operate more efficiently in terms of cross-border working but it would be necessary to ensure that appropriate agreements were in place with the other partners who all had different contracts and waste collection arrangements.  If Ubico owned the vehicle fleet rather than the individual Councils, it may be financially beneficial in terms of purchasing and deploying electric and hydrogen vehicles in urban areas.  A number of questions were raised regarding requests for new bins and whether these were recorded and the Associate Director: Transformation advised that Customer Services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To consider the financial performance information for the first quarter of 2023/24. 

That the financial performance information for the first quarter of 2023/24 be NOTED. 

31.1          The report of Associate Director: Finance, circulated at Pages No. 15-30, set out the financial update for quarter one of 2023/24 which Members were asked to consider.

31.2           The Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management indicated there was a lot of detail contained within the report and he intended to give a general overview of some of the key elements.  The overall position on the revenue budget position was a £55,000 deficit, as outlined at Paragraph 2.1 of the report, and he clarified this was showing the position for year end as opposed to the current actual situation.  The deficit was not a target the authority was aiming for when originally setting the budget, but he was of the view that this was a reasonable position to be in considering the many pressures affecting services including the ongoing struggle to recruit in key areas of the Council e.g. Planning and One Legal resulting in high agency costs as highlighted in the vacancy Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within Appendix E to the report. The agency costs were approximately £50,000 more than was budgeted for; and as outlined at Paragraph 2.8 of the report, income had been reduced due to the decision to cease the trade waste service, along with some expected reductions in other areas; it was noted that this decision had been taken after the budget was set.  The report was based on expectations as at quarter 1; however, with a volatile economy further negative impacts could not be ruled out.  As an example, a significant issue was that the Council had budgeted for a 4% allowance for the staffing pay award for this year but, until it was settled, this remained one of the biggest risks to the budget.  Notwithstanding this, there was a reserve set aside in-year to cover any settlement in excess of the budgeted figure.  The Lead Member was aware that the report had been presented differently than in previous years in order to give a more accurate picture of the financial situation, so some Members may have queries about the format.  The capital budget, attached at Appendix B to the report, and the reserves position, attached at Appendix D to the report, showed that spending was in line within the approved budgets.  The local KPIs, attached at Appendix E to the report, had been included to add further context to the financial performance and a new requirement from the revised Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Prudential and Treasury Codes meant the Council must report its prudential indicators to the Executive Committee on a quarterly, rather than six-monthly, basis from this financial year, as set out at Appendices C and F to the report.

31.3           A Member drew attention to Paragraph 2.6 of the report which stated that the projected outturn for supplies and services highlighted a potential overspend of £14,000 and she sought confirmation that ways to reduce that were being considered.  The Associate Director: Finance advised that Officers were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To consider the progress against year three of carbon reduction action plan and to approve the year four action plan. 

1.     That the progress achieved against year three of the carbon reduction action place be NOTED. 

2.     That the Year Four action plan be APPROVED.

32.1          The report of the Head of Service: Asset Management, circulated at Pages No, 31-60, sought to update Members on the progress achieved against year three of the carbon reduction action plan and asked the Committee to approve the recommended year four action plan.

32.2          The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment advised that, following the declaration of a climate emergency in October 2019, Officers and Members of the Climate Change and Flood Risk Management Group undertook a baseline audit of the Council’s carbon consumption.  The report, along with an overarching action plan, was presented to Council in June 2020 and was now in its third year.  Following a further motion to Council in May 2023 which had extended the declaration boroughwide and expanded it to include the ecological emergency, Officers had been working on additional reporting to incorporate the new motion into the plan; this had included looking further at baseline data.  One outcome was that some data had initially been misreported.  In some areas, including the Roses Theatre, this had meant that the numbers were lower than hoped but, by making sure the baseline was accurate throughout, Members could look forward to future annual reports producing accurate and positive figures.  Whilst the current report showed that small savings had been made regarding the Council’s carbon footprint, it was important to remember this was a transitional stage due to the new climate change motion and the return to ‘normal’ following the COVID pandemic.  Several achievements from the third year plan were highlighted in the report including over £140,000 in external funding for areas such as electric vehicle charging points, the installation of the solar canopy and grant funding for an air source heat pump, along with winning awards such as Council of the year in the Southwest Energy Efficiency Awards.  Moving forward, the fourth year of the plan would be monitored by the Climate Change and Ecology Management Group with specific projects also monitored by the Programme Board and relevant Lead Members.

32.3           A Member noted that Page No. 44 of the report highlighted an important point in that it would not be easy to work out the carbon footprint from remote working; for instance, some people who worked from home would also have a partner or spouse working from home and therefore the heating and lights would already be on which would be completely different for someone living alone, some people would be happy to wear lots of layers rather than putting their heating on, there would be different size homes which would be insulated differently etc.  She expressed the view that more technology could be used in the Public Services Centre, such as solar chargers for laptops and telephones which were inexpensive but would contribute to carbon savings and she asked if that could be considered.  She had asked for the report to reflect the fact that not all Councillors claimed mileage for travel and she questioned how many did claim.  The Carbon Reduction Programme Officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To agree the establishment of a new and permanent Climate Change Officer role within the Council plus associated operating budgets and to approve the virement of £66,276 from trade waste budgets to fund the ongoing cost of the proposal.

1.     That the establishment of a new and permanent Climate Change Officer role within the Council plus associated operating budgets be AGREED.

2.     That a virement of £66,276 from trade waste budgets to fund the ongoing cost of the proposal be APPROVED. 

33.1          The report of the Executive Director: Resources, circulated at Pages No. 61-64, set out a proposal for additional resources to deliver the Council’s climate change ambitions and targets following approval of a motion in May 2023 to widen the scope of the declaration of a climate emergency to include the whole borough and to declare an ecological emergency and support the Climate and Ecology Bill.  Members were asked to agree the establishment of a new and permanent Climate Change Officer role within the Council, plus associated operating budgets, and to approve the virement of £66,276 from trade waste budgets to fund the ongoing cost of the proposal.

33.2          The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment advised that, following the motion in May 2023 to extend the climate emergency boroughwide and to include an ecological emergency, it had become clear that it was necessary to expand resources in terms of dedicated Officer time.  The Council currently employed one full time Carbon Reduction Programme Officer and it was proposed that an additional permanent Climate Change Officer post be established within the Council in order to provide the capacity needed to take on the work created by the widening of the climate and ecological emergency beyond the Council’s own buildings.

33.3          The Executive Director: Resources explained that the recommendation included a virement of £66,276 from the trade waste budget, the majority of which would cover the cost of the new Officer; the post would need to go through the job evaluation process but it was anticipated it would be at a similar level to the existing Carbon Reduction Programme Officer post.  Part of the budget supporting the post would be used to support issues arising from Climate Leadership Gloucestershire and the work which needed to be done across the county to achieve its ambitions – a small pot of money to help support Tewkesbury Borough Council’s contribution to that was essential going forward.  Fortunately, there was ongoing funding in the financial year from the cessation of the trade waste service which could be vired across rather than requesting new resource.  Subject to the Committee’s approval, it was anticipated that the new Officer could be in post by February 2024.

33.4          A Member was supportive of this recommendation given the enormous amount of work that needed to be done and it was only realistic to ensure the right resources were in place.  He felt that having someone who was deeply engaged in how to approach the development of the Garden Town was very important in terms of green spaces and ecology etc; however, the danger was that the new Officer would be expected to do everything and care needed to be taken in identifying the right person for the job.  In his view, part of the role should be around how the authority applied for funding - there was a lot of money available for the Council to access with the right resource to identify sources and make applications.  Another Member expressed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To approve the revised ICT Acceptable Use Policy, which will require all Officers and Members to sign a declaration of acceptance to ensure full compliance, and to delegate authority to the Associate Director: IT and Cyber, in consultation with the Lead Member for Corporate Governance, to make minor changes to the policy including changes to management structure, typographical changes etc. 

1.     That the revised ICT Acceptable Use Policy which will require all Officers and Members to sign a declaration of acceptance to ensure full compliance be APPROVED, subject to an amendment to the section relating to Data Protection to add an additional sentence as follows: “Monitoring or accessing personal emails is in the council's legitimate interests and is to ensure that this policy on email/messaging/online communications and internet use is being complied with and/or the security of council ICT infrastructure. Monitoring or accessing personal emails may also be carried out where it is a task vested in the authority or a task carried out in the public interest such as for the prevention and detection of crime or fraud. For further information about how the data will be used please see the council’s Privacy Notice. With respect to this policy, personal email is any email sent or received using the council’s systems or equipment.”

2.     That authority be delegated to the Associate Director: IT and Cyber, in consultation with the lead Member for Corporate Governance, to make minor changes to the policy including changes to management structure, typographical changes etc.

34.1          The report of the Associate Director: IT and Cyber, circulated at Pages No. 65-73, attached, at Appendix 1, a revised ICT Acceptable Use Policy.  The Committee was asked to approve the revised policy, which would require all Officers and Members to sign a declaration of acceptance to ensure full compliance, and to delegate authority to the Associate Director: IT and Cyber, in consultation with the Lead Member for Corporate Governance, to make minor changes to the policy including changes to management structure, typographical changes etc.

34.2          The Lead Member for Corporate Governance advised that the current ICT Acceptable Use Policy was written in April 2019 and much had changed since that time in terms of the way ICT was used in the authority and the nature of work which now included remote and hybrid working.  Since the publication of the report, he had been able to discuss some of the content further with the Monitoring Officer and was suggesting a minor change to Page No. 72 in relation to the Data Protection section to clarify what was meant by personal email.  He confirmed that the policy would be relevant to Members as well as Officers; however, there was a distinction between the two as, although Members must be led by the Council rules and procedures, it was unclear what would happen if a Member did not sign the declaration of acceptance given that they still needed to be able to carry out their responsibilities as best as possible.  Notwithstanding this, he appreciated that the Council needed to have control and it was proposed that all Members sign the declaration as standard.  It would remain a living document in terms of how ICT was used and would be kept under review.

34.3           A Member raised concern that access to Council data would be restricted to Council-owned devices which would mean that Members could only use their iPads to access emails etc; other authorities used web-based applications and he would like to see Tewkesbury Borough Council being more forward thinking.  He questioned whether use would continue to be restricted to iPads if a web-based solution was introduced.  In response, the Associate Director: ICT and Cyber explained that the reason that access was restricted to Council-owned devices was in order to understand the security status of every device and know where the Council data was.  One of the major risks to the organisation was phishing emails and restricting access to Council-owned devices guaranteed security which could not be said for personal devices.  He recognised that other authorities had different approaches but Tewkesbury Borough Council was a small authority with an ICT team of eight.  The Member understood that Cheltenham Borough Council used a web-based system, as did other district authorities, and he suggested that two step authentication may help to overcome some of the concerns.  He felt that education was needed for Members in relation to phishing emails and, whilst he understood that the safest way was to keep access locked down,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

To approve the Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Strategy. 

That the Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Strategy be APPROVED. 

35.1           The report of the Head of Service: Waste and Recycling, circulated at Pages No. 74-100, attached, at Appendix 1, a revised interim waste strategy for the county.  Members were asked to approve the Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Strategy.

35.2          The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment advised that the draft Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Strategy has been developed by the Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Partnership (GRWP) which was a partnership of all of the local authorities in the county.  The previous strategy, which was adopted in 2007 and ran to 2020, had now expired and the proposed draft strategy was an interim strategy, running from 2022 – 2025, due to uncertainty from the current government on the future of waste services; it was hoped that by 2025 there may be some clarity on whether Tewkesbury Borough Council, and some of its partners across the county, would need to change the way they managed their services. The interim strategy set out the GRWPs objectives and timescales for those and included things like: working together to improve waste services, running engagement campaigns to increase the take up of the food waste service and increase the level of plastics recycled, and reducing carbon by reducing waste and increasing recycling.  One of the commitments made in the strategy was to “continue to develop waste services that reduce residual waste per household. This includes the provision of smaller residual waste bins on a rolling replacement basis.”  Currently Tewkesbury Borough Council used 180 litre bins; some councils in the county used larger bins and others used smaller ones.  If Tewkesbury Borough Council was to make this commitment it would mean moving to a 140 litre bin; if that was to happen, it would be done gradually - replacing all bins in one go would cost in the region of £1m – but it would be possible to use 140 litre bins for all new developments and replacement bins which would have no direct cost and evidence showed it would increase recycling.  She clarified that Members were not being asked to make a decision on this today but she felt it helped to demonstrate the direction of travel.  Subject to the Committee’s approval, Officers would start work on the local waste policy and procedures based on the GRWP strategy.

35.3           A Member asked whether he was correct in saying that a smaller residual waste bin should result in increased recycling.  The Director: Communities drew attention to the Frith Resource Management Options Appraisal Report, attached at Appendix 2 to the report, which included a summary of the different waste collection systems for the districts within the GRWP.  In order to reduce waste and carbon it was recommended that smaller bins be provided.  The Member asked if there was potential for an increase in fly-tipping if the authority moved to smaller bins and he was advised that the biggest risk would be greater contamination of recycling; the majority of people were unlikely to turn to fly-tipping.  Another  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan.  

That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED. 

36.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee’s Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 101-117, which Members were asked to consider.

36.2          The Chair advised that the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy would be deferred from the meeting on 18 October 2023 in order to ensure that it was aligned with the County Council strategy and the new Council Plan.

36.3          Accordingly, it was

The Chair will move the adoption of the following resolution:

That under Section 100(A)(4) Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

37.1          The Chair proposed, and it was

RESOLVED:          That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely discussion of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. 

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 12 July 2023.

38.1          The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

To make a recommendation to Council regarding the Tewkesbury Garden Town Review.

(Exempt – Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

39.1          It was recommended to Council that progress against the 17 recommendations from the gateway review report, in particular the new approaches to engagement with communities and robust programme management be noted; that the new governance arrangements, including revised programme monitoring and reporting designed to improve visibility and transparency be approved, subject to amendments to Page No. 135, Paragraph 4.1 - Membership of the Tewkesbury Garden Town Assurance Board to be updated to include three Members from the Members Engagement Forum, Page No. 136, Paragraph 4.3.1 – Reference to the Programme Board to be changed to the Project Board and Page No. 136, Paragraph 4.6.1 – Members Engagement Forum to meet once a month for the first six months following which meeting frequency would be reviewed by the Tewkesbury Garden Town Assurance Board; and that it be agreed that the Council, as promoter, explores opportunities with developers and landowners within the Garden Town area to align their proposals for development with the developing vision and aspirations for Tewkesbury Garden Town.